The Fisherman and the Syren

The Fisherman and the Syren is an oil on canvas by Frederic Leighton, first shown in 1858 at the Royal Academy. It depicts a young Sicilian fisherman, dark-skinned with curly black hair, who drifts into sleep as he slides down a rock toward the tide. A naked, fair-haired siren, her long wavy locks threaded with pearls, clasps his neck. The subject comes from Goethe's ballad "Der Fischer" of 1779, whose lines describe how she draws him in and he sinks without return. Leighton chose a scene of seductive danger that critics have linked to the femme fatale, a figure popular in Victorian painting and among the Symbolists. In an 1861 letter to his father, the artist stated that the work was as far from naturalism as possible, which underlines its literary character. Its early reception was lukewarm, though a favourable notice in the Daily Telegraph praised the drawing and the graceful figures. Painted for the famous singer Mario, the picture is now held by the Bristol City Museum.

Painter

Frederic Leighton

Date

1858

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

66 × 49 cm

Museum

Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery, City of Bristol

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